Botswana national team coach Morena Ramoreboli can't help but be happy at the fact that his captain Thatayaone Ditlhokwe is getting more time on the pitch for Kaizer Chiefs.
Ditlhokwe did not feature for Amakhosi in the first two months of the season, but remained a key figure for the national team in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, playing 90 minutes in all the Zebras' matches as they booked a spot in the competition that will be played in Morocco later this year.
The 26-year-old made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the Carling Knockout defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns and has since been able to get more opportunities in the team, more recently as a left back.
In total, he has made 11 appearances in all competitions and, as you can imagine, Ramorobeli, speaking exclusively to Soccer Laduma, is delighted to see his captain spending more time on the pitch than in the stands recently.
"To be honest, I am very excited that 'TT' is playing. I think all our players who are playing outside the country have been getting minutes, which is very important for us. As for the captain 'TT', is very important. Remember at some point he was not even sitting on the bench, but looking at him playing regularly now and doing so well, I think it's going to help us to perform well," Ramoreboli told the Siya crew.
"We will also be having match fit players, or should I say players with minutes, and that's an advantage for us. I am looking forward to seeing him competing throughout the season. I wish him everything of the best."
Ramoreboli has watched Ditlhokwe's game carefully at Chiefs over the last few moments, noticing his movements as a left back. The coach, though, prefers to have the former SuperSport United player as a left sided centre back, but knows that he can at least play him at left back if he has no other choice but to do so.
"He is versatile. He can give you something as a left back and as a centre back. There's something interesting Chiefs are doing with him. You don't see him climbing too high (up the field) every time they are in possession, but you see him inverting to overload the central space or to give the balance to the two centre backs, so that they allow the right full back to go (forward). It's only when they are desperate when you see him pushing high, but that means he still thinks like a centre back when they are in possession and he quickly adapts to the demands of a left full back when they are out of possession. For me, it's good.
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"But I think with how we want to play, we will need him more as a centre back to give us that stability and be able to help us to influence our game from the back."
Botswana have qualified for AFCON for the first time since 2012 and are in a group with Senegal, DR Congo and Benin. Ramoreboli has been given the task of leading the Zebras beyond the group stages and Ditlhokwe is one of the players he will bank on to inspire the country to a first ever appearance in the knockout phase of AFCON.
